It’s called “multibeam” because unlike the first single-beam sonars, which sent out one signal or ping, multibeam sonar sends out a whole group of pings at once. Multibeam sonar can cover a larger area than a single beam can.

Did you know?

Press play button to start the movie.

In this movie, a survey ship with a multibeam sonar measures the depth of the sea floor. These depth measurements are then used to create rainbow-colored maps. In general, red is used to show shallow depths and blue or purple for deeper depths. Can you see the shallowest point the ship surveyed?